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Patented July I2, |898.

F. L. RAINBOW.

scHo'oL SEAT.

(Application led Feb. 14; 1898.)

(No Model.)

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FRED L. RAINBOIV, OF MORRISON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TIIE ILLINOIS REFRIGERATOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SCHOOL-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,275, dated July 12, 1898. Application niet February 14, 1898. serial no. 670,205. (Nt man.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Beit known that I, FRED L. RAINBOW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morrison, in the county of Vhiteside and State of Illinois, have invented a new useful Improvement in School-Desks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in school-desks of the class employing rear-folding seats, and more particularly to improved means for rendering the seats of such desks automatic in the initial movement of folding.

I'Ieretofore the most commonly-used devicel for accomplishing the automatic folding of seats of this description has been that of con volute springs placed upon one or more of the studs att-aching the swinging arms to the desk-standards and having projecting ends engaging the arms and tending normally to raise them; but such an arrangement, besides complicating and enhancing the cost of the mechanism, is open to the objection that the springs are easily broken, it being found impossible, except at a` prohibitive cost, to produce springs of this description of sufficient resilience and of suitable action to answer the requirements put upon them. Y object is to overcome these objectionable features by providing a spring of such form and location as to be perfectly adapted to perform the function of starting the seat off center, after which it is raised with ease by a slight backward pressure upon4 its front edge, readily exerted through the limbs of the occupant in rising.

My invention consists 'in the improved spring herein described and in the novel combinations and arrangement of parts set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in inner side elevation of a seat-standard and equipments embodying my improvements, the standard being shown provided with a seat-strap carried by swinging arms and with a spring-the parts being shown in the position whichthey occupy when the seat is in its lowermost position; "Fig, 2, a similar view showing the relative positions of the parts when the seat is raised; Fig. 3, a broken view of the swinging arms and attached parts and showing the position of parts as the spring is about to leave the rear swinging arm upon which it rests, and Fig. t a sec- 'tionl on line -l of Fig. l and showing the manner ofoatta'ching the spring to the seat-strap. A isa seat-standard, to the inner side of which are pivoted the rear ends of swinging arms B and'O, which in turn carry at their upper forwardends a pivotally-secured seat-strap D. The upper end of the forward arm C is attached to the inner side of the strap,close to its front end, and the upper end of the rear arm B near to or slightly in front of the middle of the length of the strap and on the innerv side thereof. The upper portion of the arm B is provided with an offset t, extending substantially in a horizontal position in Fig. l and shown provided on its upper side with a lug t. Attached to the inner side of the seat-strap a short distance to the rear of the point of attachmentof the arm Bis a two-pron ged spring E,havingforwardly-projectingarmsss. The spring is provided with a loop s2 in the form of an are ofa circle, at which portion it is attached to a boss s3 on the seat-strap I) by means of a stud F, provided with a washer r and nut r. The stud is further provided with a sleeve F of elastic material, which when the ends of the spring are pressed together permits a certain yielding of the arc-shaped portion of the spring. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the arms converge toward the center of the loop, but do not meet when the spring isl expanded. The upper arm'of the spring bears against a pin s, with which the seatstrap is provided, and a rib sserves to hold the arms in alinement with the outer surface of the lug s3. Downward rotation of the spring is prevented by a pin s, During the compression of the spring the shoulders of the spring corresponding to the ends of the arc meet-to form a fulcrum, thereby changing the point of greatest flexure in the spring. The spring is preferably of the flat type shown, and the forwardend of the lower arm should be upcurved to permit it tomove over the lug t. It will be observed that the spring is being compressed during that portion of the movement of the seat when the strap moves from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. l. Vhen the occupant arises from the seat, the resilience of IOO the spring is suicient to throw the seat to the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby changing the upper pivotal points to a position off center, so that a slight rearwardly-directed force is sufiicient to fold the seat. Thus it appears that the sole function of the spring is to give to the seat its initial upward start and that the spring is under no compression after the seat-strap is raised to the position shown in Fig. 3, the lower arm of the spring being entirely removed from its resting-place upon the rear swinging arm B when the seat is raised above that position. In this manner I am ableto secure a spring which will perform its work perfectly, and yet it is not subject to the danger of breaking, which is present in the case of springs which are in action throughout the entire movement of the seat. During the compression of the spring the end of the arm s slides over the lug i until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 1. The standard A is equipped with a rubber or felt stop p, upon which the rear end of the seat-strap strikes to limit the downward movement of the seat and which, with the spring, contributes to render the fall of the seat noiseless.

The relative positions of the coactin g parts is, I believe, a factor of great importance in producing the improved results set forth. I therefore claim as a part of my invention a construction in which a seatstandard is equipped with a rear-folding seat, between the upper end of the rear swinging arm of which and the rear portion of the seatstrap is confined a spring attached to one of said relatively movable parts and contacting with the other of said parts throughout a portion only of the movement of the seat.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a seat, the combination with a standard, of a seat-strap, a frontand a rear arm pivotally joined to the seat-strap and to the standard, and a spring confined between the upper front portion of said rear arm and the rear portion of said seat-strap and attached to one of said last-named parts and contacting with the other of said parts through a portion of the movement of the seat only and aiding in the initial movement of raising the seat, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a seat, the combination with a stand ard, of a seat-strap, afront swinging arm pivotally joined to the standard and to the front end of the seat-strap, a rear swinging arm pivotally joined to the standard and to the seatstrap near the center of the strap, a spring attached to the seat-strap a short distance to the rear of the upper end of the rear swinging arm and provided with a forwardly-projecting prong adapted to be engaged by the upper portion of said arm during a portion Vonly of the movement of the seat, and means for limiting the downward movement of the seat, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a seat, the combination with an end standard and a seat-strap, of arms B and C, having their ends pivotally joined to thc standard and the` seat-strap, a spring E provided with a loop s2 attached to the seat-strap toward the rear end and having an upper arm s and a lower curved arm S', a bearing upon the seat-strap for the arm s, and a bearing on the arm B for the prong .5" and means for limiting the downward movement of the seat, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a seat, the combination with a standard, of a seat-strap, arms B and C pivotally joined to the inner side of the strap and standard, a twoprong spring E carried bythe rear portion of said seat-strap, an offset t on the arm B affording a bearing on its upper surface for the lower prong of said spring when the seat is lowered, and a stop p on the standard in the path of the rear end of the seatstrap and limiting the downward movement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a rear-folding seat, the combination with a standard, of a seat-strap, front and rear swinging arms pivotally joined to the standard at their lower ends and to the seatstrap at their upper ends, a two-prong flat spring provided with a partially-closed loop, a stud on the seat-strap to receive the loop, an elastic collar confined between the loop and stud, bearings on the strap and the upper portion of the rear swinging arm for the prongs of the spring, and a stop p on the standard in the path of the rear portion of the seat-strap, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FRED Il. RAINBONV.

In presence of-- J. B. MARKER, WILLIAM BREARTON.

IOO 

